FAO statement at 2022 HLPF – SDGs in focus: SDG 17 and interlinkages with other SDGs

High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2022

'SDGs in focus: SDG 17 and interlinkages with other SDGs'

Written statement submitted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

 

Agrifood systems are part of the solution to accelerate the 2030 Agenda and achieve the SDGs and provide opportunities to reset, rethink and redouble efforts to build forward better, “greener and bluer”, using coordinated, coherent, inclusive and holistic approaches which maximize synergies and minimize trade-offs and risks. 

Agrifood systems are a fundamental piece of the sustainability puzzle, with the potential to catalyze several positive changes not only in the agriculture and food sectors but also in other systems like energy and connectivity.

Transforming towards more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems generates short- and long-term benefits.

It contributes to the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and support the delivery of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by accelerating the reduction of poverty and inequality, creating decent jobs, providing affordable healthy diets, reducing food loss and waste and preserving natural resources and biodiversity loss and promoting climate change adaptation and mitigation.

This potential and opportunities of agrifood system transformations as accelerators of the 2030 Agenda, have been recognized by the UN Food Systems Summit convened last year.

Owing to the success of the Summit and to support the countries on implementing their national food system transformation pathways, the UN Secretary General committed to UN system to jointly lead a Coordination Hub that collaborates with, and draws upon, wider UN system capacities to support follow-up to the Food Systems Summit. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN is proud to host this Hub on behalf of the UN System. 

To translate the aspirational character of SDG-based agrifood transformations to practical action we need to strengthen capacity development, leverage finance and increase investments and use other means of implementation to provide solutions to policy makers and other stakeholders. 

In terms of finance and investments, we need more quantity but also quality ensuring that they contribute to the goals we want and reach those that need it, benefitting and empowering them to act, building from their strengths.

Given the various demands on financing, we also need to be creative in identifying new sources of investments – domestic mobilization, private sector and repurposing food and agricultural policies. This is a topic that the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, to be launched tomorrow morning in Conference Room 2, will take a deeper look at. 

And we need to monitor how we are doing, be accountable. In this regard, There is a need to present progress in these areas and we can collectively do this on the way to organize, in late 2023, the food systems stock-taking moment. In the process FAO and the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub will be looking for active partnerships with our Member States, the UN System and all stakeholders.